Cooling cup applicators with contoured heads and liner assemblies

Abstract

Systems for treating a subject's tissue can include a thermally conductive cup, a sealing member, and/or a liner assembly. The systems can include an applicator capable of being reconfigured for a particular treatment site. Components of the applicator can be replaced to achieve a desired configuration. The replaceable components can include contoured heads, liners, and/or sensors. The applicator can draw a vacuum to install various components and/or draw tissue into the applicator. The applicator can cool and/or heat the tissue to affect targeted tissue.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus for treating a subject's tissue, comprising:
 an applicator configured to cool and affect targeted tissue and including
 a base unit including a temperature-controlled cup having a conductive heat-exchanging surface defining a tissue-receiving cavity, 
 a head removably coupleable to the base unit and including a contoured mouth, 
 a sealing member being positionable between the head and the base unit to create a vacuum seal therebetween, 
 latches located on opposite sides of the base unit and movable from unlocked positions to locked positions to pull the head toward the base unit such that the sealing member, which is positioned in a trench of the base unit, is compressed to form the vacuum seal, wherein the trench circumferentially surrounds an entrance of the tissue-receiving cavity, and 
 a liner assembly having the sealing member and a liner coupled to the sealing member, wherein the liner is configured to extend across the entrance of the tissue receiving cavity when the sealing member is positioned between the head and the base unit; 
 
 a controller programmed to command the applicator to draw a vacuum in the tissue-receiving cavity to pull the tissue into thermal contact with the conductive heat-exchanging surface; and 
 a vacuum source fluidically coupled to the applicator and operable to cause the liner and tissue to be drawn to a bottom of the tissue-receiving cavity to bring the tissue into thermal contact with a portion of the conductive heat-exchanging surface at the bottom of the tissue-receiving cavity. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is programmed to command the vacuum source to draw the tissue into thermal contact with the conductive heat-exchanging surface to eliminate air gaps between the tissue and the conductive heat-exchanging surface, and the controller containing instructions for causing a thermal device of the base unit to cool the temperature-controlled cup to non-invasively cool subcutaneous lipid-rich cells to a temperature less than about 0° C.